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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27884134">The one thing that matters</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/imjusttrashignoreme/pseuds/imjusttrashignoreme'>imjusttrashignoreme</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Dream SMP - Fandom, Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Corruption, Corruption Arc, Panic Attacks, kind of, no beta we die like wilbur, the boys are sad, what if tommy got exiled on the 30th</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 09:27:00</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,668</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27884134</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/imjusttrashignoreme/pseuds/imjusttrashignoreme</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>He was alone.</p><p>He was the bad guy.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>110</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The one thing that matters</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>WOOOOOOOOO I'm late but i had to get this out of my system</p><p>enjoy</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>„Tommy, I need you to tell me the truth, please, we can’t fix this otherwise!”</p><p>“What do you mean? Tubbo I’m not lying, I wouldn’t lie!”</p><p>Tubbo wished he’d stop yelling. Tommy always yells when he’s backed into a corner. When he’s guilty. And he doesn’t want to believe it. Tommy was his friend and he doesn’t want to believe he’s guilty.</p><p>But the evidence speaks for itself. And there’s so <em>so</em> much of it.</p><p>He’s the president of L’Manberg and he has a duty to fulfill. And if Dream won’t drop this and just keeps escalating the situation, he needs to do something. He can’t turn a bind eye, even to Tommy’s shenanigans.</p><p>It would be so much easier if Tommy would just cooperate with him! Instead he keeps lying, trying to scream his way out of the mess he’s in, trying to escape the consequences of his own actions. Like he always does.</p><p>Dream won’t leave the situation be as long as Tommy isn’t punished. And Tubbo really wants to avoid the suggestion the masked knight had made earlier.</p><p>He doesn’t want it to come to that.</p><p>Tommy might not give him another choice.</p><p>The dirty blond pulls him away from the crowd after he finished his tantrum. It makes his stomach queasy to think what he might say.</p><p>“Tubbo, please, for the love of Notch, you believe me, right? You have to, you know this just doesn’t sound like something I’d do!”</p><p>And holy hell how much Tubbo despised that sentence. Tommy kept repeating it the entire time as though it was a valid argument when in reality-</p><p>“This sounds exactly like something you’d do!”</p><p>He stepped closer to the other, secretly begging for him to just finally come clean.</p><p>“This has your name written all over it! Work with me here Tommy so that we can negotiate and work something out, just denying when there’s so much stacked against you isn’t helping your case at all!”</p><p>Tommy was visibly shaking with frustration and it hurt Tubbo to pressure his friend so, but he was in the wrong, he made a mistake, did something stupid he didn’t think through and that’s fine, that happens but he needs to face the consequences still.</p><p>And Tommy was so desperate to have Tubbo by his side like he’d always been.</p><p>But Tubbo can’t do that for him.</p><p>Not this time.</p><p>“For fucks sake, why does it even matter whether I’m guilty or not, Dream is blowing this all way out of proportion either way!”</p><p>Tommy was yelling again.</p><p>And Tubbo was so done.</p><p>“It matters because you burned down the house of the <em>King</em>, Tommy, it matters  because you’re the vice president, it matters because Dream both has the power and the authority to build obsidian walls around L’Manberg and taking away our territory because every treaty we’ve ever signed with him has been made null and void since we overthrew Schlatt!</p><p>“We have zero leverage and no leg to stand on Tommy, we are <em>fucked </em>and you’re making everything worse!”</p><p>Tubbo had become louder and louder with each sentence coming from his mouth to the point where now even the other cabinet members, who had been well out of earshot turned to them in surprise and confusion at the outburst.</p><p>Even Tommy was stunned into silence for a moment until his habits took back over. Because when somebody’s loud, Tommy has to be louder.</p><p>But this was different.</p><p>This was rash, and frantic, and pure desperation.</p><p>“I never wanted to be vice president, you people just made me, I didn’t even want to be president that’s why I gave it to Wilbur I didn’t want- I didn’t- It just-</p><p>“It was supposed to be just you and me Tubbo! Us against Dream, us against the world like always, and I wanted L’Manberg in safe hands so we could-“</p><p>“It’s not about just us anymore!”</p><p>A volcano erupted.</p><p>Tommy was quiet.</p><p>“It hasn’t been about us in a long time Tommy and you know that! There’s an entire nation full of people relying on us, counting on us! We have a responsibility towards them, why can’t you understand that?</p><p>“Dammit Tommy, just <em>grow up </em>already!”</p><p>Without sparing the other teen a glance, Tubbo turned around in direction of the caravan.</p><p>The people in front, Quackity, Fundy and George silently made way for him to climb onto the roof.</p><p>He surveyed the crowed that had gathered in front. It wasn’t many people, just the cabinet, the dream team and Ranboo, but it was enough to make him nervous for what he was about to do.</p><p>Tubbo closed his eyes, shaking, out of anger or fear, he didn’t know, and it didn’t matter.</p><p>It was dead silent by the time he spoke, the people waiting with bated breath for what was coming, whatever it was, although something told him the grin on Dream’s face meant he had an idea.</p><p>Because he was right.</p><p>“Citizens of L’Manberg.”</p><p>Voice loud, and booming, it demanded respect and established his role as leader clearly. His voice never used to be like this. He wasn’t sure when it had changed. But he knew where it was from. He knew who he was copying, who he was imitating, and some others might have noticed it too.</p><p>He would never say it out loud. Or even to himself. But he knew.</p><p>“In light of the evidence provided, the accusations made by King George have proven to be true. Tommyinnit is indeed at fault for the damages to his home.</p><p>“And as it stands, we have failed to come to a compromise that would solve this matter peacefully. Thus, I see myself forced to take extreme actions to make sure our nation stays free and unconfined.”</p><p>Tubbo didn’t look at his right-hand man. He couldn’t. Not yet. He would change his mind if he did, his resolve crumble on the spot, resolve as fragile as Tommy’s trust in him, it seemed. And potentially just as misplaced.</p><p>“I hereby <em>revoke </em>the citizen ship of Tommyinnit. And it will be revoked until further notice.”</p><p>For a heartbeat, there was nothing.</p><p>Then, cheers erupted.</p><p>Dream, George and Sapnap cried out in joy, all deserved to the sense of schadenfreude they each felt upon their victory. They laughed loud, wheezing and cackling, it was the only sound ringing through the quiet night.</p><p>Because the citizens of L’Manberg, the cabinet had been deathly quiet throughout it all. They stood in silence, with heavy hearts, weighing them down like invisible armor they were not allowed to wear.</p><p>And Tommy?</p><p>Tommy couldn’t breathe. His throat restricted and his lungs felt empty. Somebody must’ve punched him because why the fuck couldn’t he breathe?</p><p>His vision singled in on one spot on the caravan, everything else seemed to blur, he was twitching, was he twitching? Was he moving at all? And shit, what was that noise, that loud white noise, like nails on a chalkboard, he felt it in his spine, what the fuck was that?</p><p>This couldn’t be happening, none of this was actually happening, it just couldn’t because Tubbo would never-</p><p>Tubbo?</p><p>Tommy’s eyes snapped up to his friend, wide and desperate and pleading.</p><p>And Tubbo was staring back at him.</p><p>And Tommy realized, he’d heard those words before. Those exact same words had tortured his soul before, had plagued his sleep, had made him lose hope in the dark cave he had been forced to call home.</p><p>The teen frantically looked around, searching for one person, just one, who’d help him, would come to his defense, would be by his side but-</p><p>There were none.</p><p>Quackity glared at him, ferocious with anger, while Fundy’s look held nothing but pity and sadness, although it was clear he wouldn’t make a move to help.</p><p>And it dawned on him.</p><p>No one would help him. Not one single person would go through the trouble of standing up for him.</p><p>They all wanted him <em>gone.</em></p><p>Gone and out of the way.</p><p>
  <strong>
    <em>Exiled</em>
  </strong>
</p><p>The tension that had had an iron grip on his muscles before, released, and his body sagged together pathetically. His face darkened as he stared at the ground, eyes unfocused. Any argument he might’ve had, slipped away and died on his tongue.</p><p>He was alone.</p><p>He was the Bad Guy.</p><p>“Tommy may gather any belongings of his still remaining in L’Manberg, but then he must stay outside the border, and never return.”</p><p>Tubbo’s voice broke at the end, close to a sob but he was trying to hold himself together as best he could. It hurt. Doubt already settled in his mind.</p><p>Why couldn’t Tommy just do the one thing he had asked of him? Why?</p><p>They were supposed to depend on each other, weren’t they? When had it all gone wrong?</p><p>Tommy didn’t hear the regret. Couldn’t, for all he heard was his best friend stabbing him in the back with a cold knife, putting L’Manberg above him, above <em>them.</em></p><p>He just turned around and left.</p><p>He had no belongings in this L’Manberg, as there was no home here he called his own, and even if he did, nothing in this world or the next was valuable enough to stay here a moment longer.</p><p>So, he left.</p><p>He passed by the still cajoling group of friends, undoubtedly making fun of him as he went, not that he paid any mind. He didn’t care.</p><p>Tommy exited L’Manberg, once his great nation, through the giant obsidian walls he was responsible for. Walls which now kept him out.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Later, when both teens had isolated themselves from prying eyes and curious ears, they finally let the tears, they held throughout it all, fall. An open dam of misery and sorrow, their wails and cries not heard by anyone but the dead.</p><p>
  <em>Oh and they heard.</em>
</p><p>No one would ever understand their pain and despair of having lost the one thing that truly ever mattered.</p><p>No one, but each other.</p>
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